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Lost in Greycott
Preface On the edge of the continent of Dawnforge is the lonely town of Greycott, deep in Mirningshire. The party assembled helping save a certain merchant's daughter, and now they're stuck together. They are; * Marbumli Rubygut * Eustace Bogside * Carison Tyloth * Abel Redwood * Buetival Lost in Greycott Arc One - Welcome to Greycott Recaps - Arc One Session 1 - All is Illusion Scattered around Mirningshire without even knowing it, the soon-to-be party are forming. Marbumli Rubygut joins in the Saniris celebrations of a tavern fight deep in the night at the Brawl & Fall when he rolls down the embankment and upon a dead body. Aiming to see who it was, the dead man spat salt and sand in his face... less of a man and more of a Half-Elf. The dead man was a survivor of a shipwreck, calling himself Buetival. The two got to talking before a commotion was heard; a familiar face to both of them, master Meyhem van Loren was looking for muscle for an urgent job to help his friend, Xymena de Sepulvada. Given Meyhem was Xymena's colleague who in turn was Marbumli's patron and fixer, and Meyhem was the owner of the ship Buetival was wrecked on, they agreed. Eustace Bogside, a struggling recent divorcee wakes up in a cot he scrounged together in the back of his failed tavern's storage room. It's the first day of Saniris, the season of blossoms and the long winter is finally over and he can resume his job fishing. Except today he had no plan to join the fleet, no, today was the today he was going to find the monstrous whore of a harpy-thing that seduced him away from his wife and ruined his marriage. So when he found her up the river, he wasn't expecting a sudden surge of water to pick him up and dash him and the company's boat on the rocks. The last thing he heard was the shrill laughter of the harpy-thing, victorious for a second time. Later up that same river, Marbumli and Buetival find a dead body floating in the Kingfisher. Again, not a dead body, but instead of a Half-Elf it was a crochety old man whose face was constantly upturned in disgust. Eustace had a hand up to the ship where he met the others and a certain master Meyhem. Eustace was essentially roped into helping the crew with this job. Meanwhile, at an inn along the crossroads, a travelling sage and cleric meet while trying to make way to Greycott. Abel Redwood and Carison Tyloth, who could not be more opposites in age, religion and sense of dress, became acquainted with one another. They found themselves both heading to Greycott, a rather insular and foreboding town, which gave them enough in common. They found company with a wandering band of Half-Elves who took them as far as Peachtrees, a backwater hamlet with a tiny port attached. It was that tiny port that heralded events soon to come, for a glorious sloop was docked. Carison and Abel were ambushed by Meyhem van Loren, revealing himself to be the captain and owner of the Lady Lebioda. They wanted passage to Greycott, and he would offer it not for gold, but for help. This was not a simple journey, but a rescue. Aboard the Lady, the party met proper. Here among them was Meyhem's quartermaster, Solomons, and his first mate Davil was elsewhere. The job was simple; a group of brigands had kidnapped Xymena's only daughter Xara and taken her north of their home. Meyhem had the ship double-back towards Greycott to cut off the brigands and find Xara. Solomons was indifferent to the party; none of them seemed like professionals, where he was a trained slayer. Experience born and bought in blood, some would say. The party got to know each other over horns of ale Meyhem provided, before the clouds started to turn black and heavy, cold and angry. A storm began, no doubt beckoning the arrival of the spring season, but a worse time there could never be. The storm threw the ship around while the party struggled to help the cragsmen; Eustace went to strike the topsail, Carison battened the hatches, Marbumli helped Meyhem with the wheel while Abel and Bue went downstairs to deal with the loose cargo. Madness around them, all they could do was embrace the chaos as Meyhem took to shouting into the wind. As quickly as the storm started, it vanished, leaving the ship becalmed in mist. They were in an oxbow, an inlet in the deep woods and off course. Meyhem's compass was spinning uncontrollably. Solomons got the attention of everyone and mentioned that Davil had locked his door and wasn't answering; he must've had fallen unconscious in the storm. Marbumli and Eustace knocked it down when a dead girl slumped down to the floor while the sailor Davil sat on the other side, silent. "Seems we're fucked," broke the silence through Solomons' quip. Meyhem drew a sword to his quartermaster's throat while the party watched, confused. The girl was not meant to be there and she was dead. Solomons slowly explained that Xymena's daughter was not taken by brigands, but a dryad. Dryads reproduce by abducting and turning Elven girls into one of their own... and Solomons came prepared by taking another dryad's child to bargain with, up until Davil killed her in a scuffle to escape. Over a fallen tree, something was watching them, before turning away and running. A fox, it seemed like, but Meyhem loudly quipped "Twenty years I've been sailing on rivers. Twenty years because my wife said it's safer than the open ocean. Now we're being hunted by a fucking dæmon." Before justice could be dealt, the sloop crashed into a decaying ship lost and stuck in the bog. The party were knocked around, but a scream alerted them to a cragsman being dragged overboard by muddy, slimy hands. Zombies began to climb aboard from the bog, as a graveyard of dead ships lurked around them. They were trapped and the only way out was through. The party showed their mettle by fighting the zombies, impressing Meyhem and Solomons some. While the cragsmen were trying to loosen the sloop from the dead ship, more zombies clambered aboard, including a massive bloated orc who smashed Meyhem across the deck of the ship. With a few handy spells, the beast was defeated. There was no time for celebration as Solomons turned his nose to the wind and pointed at a smoke signal nearby. Must be the "brigands" he had looking for the girl. The party followed Solomons to the woods and into the bog where his men were waiting, but all they found was destruction. The mercenaries had been slain by something with terrible slashing claws, leaving all but one alive. While Solomons was trying to track the beast, the others spoke to the dead man. He spoke truthfully, claiming "It would never work, giving the girl to a dryad? It'd never work." He spoke about someone named Petyr, revealing it to be Solomons first name. The party relented and followed Solomons deeper into the swamp, waiting for an opportunity. The tracks were not left by a dryad, no, dryads walk with the forest, not through it. This was made by something more monstrous. Something that must have made a home in a cave, cackling as drowners rose out of the swampwater. "Bilge hag," muttered Solomons as he drew his greatsword, before the party were mobbed by drowners and the hag. The hag submerged herself into the mud and launched a surprise attack, before blinding Marbumli by flinging mud. The others were going to help the ambushed Eustace as Solomons was swarmed with drowners. Bue had the genius to cast Sleep putting the hag to sleep successfully... as well as Eustace. Carison lumbered over, dagger in hand ready to slit the hag's throat... and missed, as she woke up now angry and on her back. So while she was on her back, Bue and Abel set her on fire, landing squarely on Eustace. The others had a good chuckle at this, before seeing Solomons run into the hag's cave. Inside was a collection of odd items, where on the far side in the darkness was a wooden cage that Solomons was prying open. Inside was a young girl, seemingly so human in her weakness you couldn't tell she was part Elf. So when Solomons wrenched her hair and put a blade to her throat, the party knew they were in trouble. Solomons was a seasoned veteran, a cruel man willing to do whatever it took to survive. He had a hunch the party were in the know of his plan, so he needed to make an escape. In exchange for the life of Xara, he would walk away. The party, despite outnumbering him, couldn't risk the girl's life and let him leave. The woods are deep and dark, but they never seemed darker until that day. The party returned to the ship, victorious, but there was no celebration. The ship was silent and waiting, the good Lady quiet. Onboard the ship, Meyhem held the dead dryad girl in his arms while he was gathered among the other crags. Davil was sweating loud and nervously as the party turned their attention to the other side of the ship. Waiting for them was a silent, beautiful creature, born of mist, fur and leaves. It was the dryad, waiting silently. Meyhem didn't know what to do, so the party told him to give her back her child. He hesitated and complied, seeing no other way to save his crew. She finally spoke, claiming that she would be back for them. Davil saw this as a chance to strike and run. As Davil tried to flee away and strike the dryad, he kept running. He fell into the swamp and continued to run before the mud seemed intent on swallowing him alive. Black leeches, massive weasels of slippery meat, began to swarm him, choke him and finally suffocate him. The dryad was gone and the ship returned to Greycott in silence. As dusk fell, the harbour was waiting for them. There stood a few dozen cragsmen, villagers and tired crownsguard waiting for Meyhem's arrival, to see if the party were victorious. Xymena herself was there, and while she was not a massive woman she held an aura that commanded others. It was only when her daughter rushed to her side did she deflate, realizing the party really did come out victorious. Elves are taught to give in to the whims of the Fey, that once a child is taken that's it. Something ends, something begins. She owed the party drinks for defying fate, to which Meyhem called for a feast and to "never let these vagabonds pay for their own drinks while I live and breathe." In the Groggy Ghoul the party got proper acquainted and turned in to rest after a hardy feast. In the night, in their own private rooms, they were visited. The dryad returned, claiming she would come back for them, but she did not know why. To say goodbye, she said, for her to say goodbye. "Her" being the dryad girl thought killed, to which it was a deception; an illusion. Their kind had their own world once, but now they were trapped here in a world of men, and ships, and monsters. One gift, she said, one gift she would grant the party; touch her hand. To see the oldest of worlds, the eldest of secrets and know the truth... ... the truth that All is Illusion, as the party each phased through the dryad's apparition and into the hallway, busting down each of their doors as they did. The party will return in Session 2. Session 2 - Come & See This session took place from the 1st Jomuer to the 1st Gol of Serenity, 4388, ending at midnight outside the Mausoleum. After searching their rooms for evidence of the dryad ever existing, the party retire back to sleep-- first making sure no demons or fey were under their beds. That morning they had a hearty breakfast before seeing Ser Gorrister von Goetia enter. Deciding to entertain the idea of taking up bounties, they spoke to him about their options. The captain mentioned Roenna, the Woodswraith, was accused of kidnapping someone that a farmer boy reported. The party thought this would help their growing reputation in town. Gorrister knew they were strangers and new to town, so he asked a peculiar question; any odd dreams? He had one such dream that was more like a message; "come see the dead dance at midnight" was carved into a stone wall, where some kind of flag or banner flapped in the breeze near it. The party kept this in mind as they left on their quest. After gathering some supplies in town and meeting the quirky owner of the nameless Store, Winston Weirdbottle, the party made passage to the Dreadwood where the woodswraith would be. Along the way they saw the farms extend close to, but not near enough to the woods to warrant any screams heard. Some rangers from the nearby Waycastle had finished a patrol in time to warn the party; do not go any deeper than the outer fringes of the Dread, and never fall asleep inside. The ranger who warned them of this was none other than Kiara Shadowhand, the leading ranger. Through the Dreadwood they kept true to her advice and only sought after the woodswraith when the solitary column of smoke from a campfire led them to her cabin. It was one of mediocre size, but the sign outside that said "wait here" was quickly ignored when screams and the thumping of wood was heard inside. Bashing down the door and into the backroom revealed a hatchdoor where a young woman was trying to force her way out. Rather than let her out, the party actually adhered to the sign and waited to speak to Roenna. When a fox snuck up on them, turned and transformed, they found her. She explained the "woman" was a Bruxa, a type of succubus-like vampire. Being a woman, the Bruxa's magic had no effect on her and she subdued her to study the creature. She thanked the party for not barging into her home to free the vampire and possibly ruin her study, rewarding them some alchemical herbs. The party thought to investigate who could have reported this odd occurrence; the farms were nowhere near this cabin, who could have done this? All they had was a name; Mikael. The party spent the afternoon looking for this man, and found him among friends. They looked to be an unsavory type but when pressed Mikael revealed he was seeing the Bruxa; he called her Natalis. Fang marks on his neck proved the fact. The party warned his fellows to stay away from him, but some of them were convinced that the party was sowing distrust. One of them, a cutthroat by the looks-- more blackguard than farmer, seemed intent on defending his friend's honour and was looking for a fight. Bue instead decided to defuse the situation and move the party away and back to town. There they told Gorrister of the events and that Roenna (however Peculiar) was just being inquisitive. Gorrister laughted at them, before realizing they were serious. He would investigate the matter of Mikael possibly being a thrall, but the party wanted to rest at the Ghoul to prepare for the next day's ordeals. They enjoyed dinner and the company of Meyhem before retiring to sleep-- until Carison was awoken by the dream that Gorrister suffered from. Indeed it was less of a dream and more of a message, like someone trying to reach out and lead him somewhere. The party begrudgingly followed, trying to find the dancing dead. Of all the places that had drab black walls and flying banners, the only one that fit the description was the Mausoleum. Separated on a central islet across Brideswallow Bridge, the Mausoleum serves as the town library, mortuary and meeting hall. The party chased one another down when they decided to sneak towards it. There, just as described, was the dead dancing at midnight. Dressed in plain clothes to hide their bleached-white bone, the skeletons played music and danced along to it. Like scarecrows, their faces hidden behind burlap and straw. And to who they danced for? A tiny girl-child with skin the shade of violets, and hair as white as Aerunnean snow. She pointed towards the front door, where another Drow was waiting. Obscured by darkness, the party met Lorelei Somersday. They'll return in Session 3.